Sophie2135

Has anyone ever used London Guided Tours before?
http://londonguidedtours.co.uk/services.html

Would that be a good way to plan a week long trip with them? Are there other companies that use a blue-badge guide and escort you to your hotel, etc?

Planning to visit Westminster abbey, tower of london, hamptons court/palace, st paul's cathedral, and other minor things like the british museum and maybe also plan a theatre, etc, included with transportation to hotel?

We will be joining a backroads tour before hand, and want to make the most out of our trip http://www.backroadstouring.co.uk/to...our-itinerary#

sparkchaser

OK, this is going to be a really stupid question but why would you need a tour of the British Museum or the Tower of London 8and arguably the other places)? You seem to have a grasp of the English language. Unless you'd rather people tell you stuff instead of reading it yourself, I wouldn't throw money away like that.

Navigating around London via the Underground is easy and inexpensive. Hiring a driver is just silly.

I must be missing something....

sparkchaser

Oh, and <flamesuit on>

raincitygirl

I wouldn't exactly call the British museum a "minor thing", Sophie, maybe do a bit of research on that one!

I agree with you sparkchaser.

sparkchaser

Yeah, the British Museum is *not* minor. One could spend all day there and not see a fraction of what is there.

Sophie2135

whoops.....wrong choice of words. By minor, I meant there might be other things I would like to do/visit.

Eg. If we plan to see a theatre, it'll finish at around dark. I've read that it may be difficult to catch a taxi back to our hotel, and that some might not be taxis, so a bit paranoid there.

I'll be visiting britain in winter, so it gets dark earlier, so yeh. Of course I won't be needing a guide for theatres etc.....they're just activities i'd like to do. But for visiting major attractions, being my first time in London, I'd rather not stressing too much.....would love to be escorted (i'd sure like to read about it, but guides telling you little secrets and stories about attractions etc, would be more interesting)

sparkchaser

I think you're overthinking this.

If you have a mobile phone, call for a taxi or a minicab. Either will be cheaper than hiring "a driver".

London is not a scary city. For one thing, almost everyone speaks English. And Londoners are friendlier than New Yorkers.

If you have your heart set on throwing money guides and drivers, go for it. It's your money.

Tulips

You really do not need a guide for London; it's safe and easy to get around.
I have used a blue-badge guide in the past, for a group of kids. She was very good and the kids learned a lot.

If you're worried about taking a taxi after theatre then book a car service to pick you up. Or stay within walking distance of the theatres, so you can walk. Where will you be staying?

thursdaysd

You do know about the tube (subway, metro) right? Most people leaving the theater take the tube. (http://www.tfl.gov.uk/modalpages/2625.aspx )

You need a good guidebook or two, not a private guide, although you could look into London Walks - http://www.walks.com/

Mimar

Another vote for London Walks. They have a wide choice of walks available, no reservations, just show up at the meeting point. Also some excursions outside London.

janisj

Sophie : what on earth are you worried about now - that London taxis might not be taxis??? You do seem overly nervous/concerned. All London taxis are REAL taxis You'll recognize them by the bright yellow 'taxi' light on the roof. There are no fake taxis.

The reason you might have trouble getting a taxi after the theatre is because several thousand other theatre goers are all getting out around the same time so most taxis will be busy (the yellow lights turned off).

But like most of those thousands of other theatre goers - you can take the tube.

I know this is really beating that poor dead horse - but you really REALLY do not need all these tours. You are going to pay a ton of extra money where it isn't needed.

But no matter what we all say you keep coming back to the tours. It is your trip and your money so do what you want.

tailsock

do some research and see London at your leisure. It's really not difficult. Would you hire a guide to see NYC or DC? If the answer is YES then perhaps you'd be better off hiring one anyway. if you're willing to do the research you can focus on things you want to see and weed out stuff you might not be as interested in

dwdvagamundo

Concur with janisj re tours and re the Tube (Underground). Underground goes everywhere you'd want to go (except Hampton Court Palace) and much quicker than surface transport.

So get a good travel guide or two: Fodors London, Eyewitness Travel Guide London, to name a couple of the better ones.

As to inside information, stories, etc.: talk to the staff at Hampton Court, the Tower (which offers a guided tour by a "Yeoman Warder" connected with the Tower,) etc. That's what they're there for.

Many places offer audioguides at little or no extra cost if you feel you must have audio information. Or use Londonwalks.

I shudder to think what a weeklong guided tour of London would cost. As the others said, it's your money, but if it were mine, I'd much prefer to spend it on a better hotel and food and drink.

thursdaysd

tailsock - I think the question for this OP is "would you hire a guide for Sydney or Canberra?"

Sophie2135

I see your point! Thanks!

Haha, nice reference to Canberra (makes more sense now). Last time I went to canberra, me and my parents just bought hop on bus tickets and toured ourselves.

Seems like I'm overthinking it too much.

Thanks for the clarifications.

bilboburgler

One of the great things about London is most of the public museums (and there are more than 240 museums http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_museums_in_London) are free.